Bailey Caravans celebrating 65th Year

January 22, 2013

The caravan manufacturer Bailey Caravans is celebrating their sixty-fifth anniversary this year, showing that even during the recession the caravan industry is still proving to be successful. This is good news for the UK economy and caravan insurance providers, especially if the popularity of caravan holidays continues. Bailey Caravans was founded in 1948 and currently every one in three caravans sold in the UK is made by Bailey, and they are also benefitting from large sales in the European market as well. Recently, Bailey has expanded their offerings to include not just caravans but also motorhomes and leisure homes as well, and have also entered new markets in Australia and New Zealand.

In 1947 Martin Bailey built his first caravan in his garage in the South of Bristol, which he then sold at the Ashton Gate market for the small price of just two hundred pounds. Only a year later the company was established as F G Bailey Ltd and started producing caravans for the masses, which became so popular in the 1950s that they had to eventually move from their original site to a larger one at South Liberty Lane in 1960, which is still the address for its headquarters today.

In 1997 Patrick and Stephen Howard bought the company and changed the name to Bailey Caravans Ltd. The Howard family still have ownership of the company to this day, and discussing the success of the business, Managing Director Nick Howard said: “Bailey would like to take this opportunity to thank its customers, retailers, suppliers, plus the consumer clubs and the caravan media for the significant contribution they have made to the Company’s continued success of the past sixty-five years.”

On November the 22nd last year, the celebrations for the sixty-five year anniversary began with a special visit from Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. Commenting on the visit Mr Howard said: “Naturally we are delighted that both The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have been able to visit us today. It is clearly a huge honour for everybody associated with the company and the perfect way to begin our own sixty-fifth anniversary celebrations.”